John beach



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIOE.

JOHN BEACH, OF DE RUYTER, NEW YORK.

CHEESE-HOOP.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 25,800, dated October 18, 1859.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN BEACH, of De Ruyter, in the county of Madison and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Cheese-Hoops or Their Fastenings, of which the following is a full and clear description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, which forms part of this specification, and in which Figure l represents a side view of the hoop when closed and as seen by looking in direction of the fastening; Fig. 2, a top view of the hoop in its open condition; Fig. 3, a similar view to Fig. l, but showing the hoop open, and Fig. 4L a` partly sectional side view (on a larger scale than shown in the other figures) of the fastening band to the hoop, detached.

My improvement relates to that class of cheese hoops that, opening and closing by means of a divided construction of them at their side, are provided with a fastening to draw and hold together the hoop, when it is required to be closed, and to admit of or assist in expanding or opening the same as occasion demands and to facilitate turning and removal of the cheese during and at the close of the pressing process.

Simple as may appear the thing to be accomplished, there are many peculiarities about a fastening suitable for a hoop of this character which practical acquaintance only with such matters can fully appreciate. It must not be complicated, nor must it be costly, otherwise however advantageous in principle it will never be of general adoption. Neither must it be liable to clog, derangement, or breakage, and it should be quick but powerful in its action and firm in its hold.

The present improvement, it is believed, avoids the defects of most previous arrange ments for the same purpose and possesses, in addition to all or most of their advantages, other features of considerable value in the practical working of a cheese-hoop. It is based on the eccentric form of fastening, but of course no broad claim to an ececntric as a fastening is here designed to be set up, such being Well known both in its application to cheese hoops and other things. A modern application of an eccentric as a fastening to a cheese-hoop may be found in a hasp pivoted to the cheese hoop at one of its sides and operating, by means of an eccentric and concentric slot, on the shank of a button attached to the other side of the hoop; said hasp being raised and lowered by a knob provided it, accordingly as t-he hoop required to be expanded or closed, and the button being turned so as to pass through a bridge at the end of the hasp when a thorough opening of the hoop was desired, also said button being turned in a contrary direction to lock the hasp when the hoop was required to be kept closed. Such combined button and eccentric fastening has many ob-` jections which it is not necessary here to dilate upon, but many of which, and the superiority in other respects of the present arrangement over it and others, will be made apparent from the following description of my improvement.

The frame or body of the hoop may be made up in any number of sections (a, Z2,

0, CZ), of suitable depth and thickness, bound together by hoops (e e) divided at the juncture of two adjoining sections (a, CZ) of the hoop and of more or less elastic character so as to permit of the hoop being distendedl (as represented in Figs. 2 and 3) when un! fastened for the purpose of being opened, and of being shut (as represented in Fig. l) when closed to and so secured by the fastening. )Vhen closed, the hoop on its inside should form a circular figure or thereabout, and its opening ends preferably made to butt against each other to form and sustain such figure.

Secured to the hoop on either side of its opening (f), are straps (A, A) terminating at their forward ends in hooked or eye formations (g g) which must occupy a given distance apart from each other when the hoop is closed. These hook or eye straps I unite by an oval or elliptical shaped band (B), of such a thickness as to be capable of easy motion within and through the eyes (g, g) of the straps, and its transverse and conjugate axes (z, 7L and z', of such lengths respectively and relatively, as when the band is turned from its position represented in Fig. 3 to its position shown in Fig. l, or thereabout, it draws together the sides of or closes the hoop and firmly holds it in a closed condition; but when turned from the position occupied by it in Fig. l, to that shown for it in Figs. 2 and 3, it serves to open and stay the hoop open. In both of these positions, it will be seen, a dead lock is secured to the hoop on opposite sides of its opening or mouth, whereby the hoop is proof against ying open when the cheese is under pressure within it, and is held open or expanded when distended for the purpose of turning or removing the cheese. The lock or grip too of the fastening is similar in its eect on both sides of the hoop, and, in turning the oval band to close the hoop, it draws equally on either side of the hoop to make said sides meet at the mouth.

The hoop may, if desired, be closed and opened by turning the band in either direction, or by a succession of movements making up a complete rotary one, but I prefer to operate such fastening by a back and forth motion in the same quarter of a circle or thereabout for a supposed radius to or of the band, still the facility with which the fastening may be worked by giving to it different travels is worthy of consideration and under some circumstances may be regarded as advantageous to adopt. Though powerful, such mode of fastening and unfastening is quick in its action, yet it avoids all injurious jerking alike in closing or opening the hoop.

The absence of any fixed support or center of motion to the fastening does away with much strainage and other objections in cases like the present where the hoop on either side of its division is designed to move and act equally both in closing and opening and which effects a much speedier and freer release of the Cheese all around, in opening the hoop, and is an advantage in the closing of the same. Pivots in such cases almost invariably work loose. There strainage on both sides must of necessity be equal, and as the expanding and contracting hoop is permanently united at its opening ends and has its range of motion made gradual and limited by the band, injury by overstretching and so forth is prevented. But this is not all. To facilitate the turning of the band (B) from its one position to the other as described (or thereabout), I arrange across the band, and diagonally to its transverse axis (L it), a bar (C) and which is designed to form a handle or handles to the band. This bar I fasten at its one t say, lower) end to an ear (m) made fast to the band, but pass it loosely through a similar ear on the opposite portion of the band and cause it to project through and beyond or above said latter ear. By the arrangement of said bar (C) diagonally to the transverse axis of the band, and out of the line of its conjugate axis, it in no wise interferes with the passage of the locking portions (o and s s) of the band through the eyes (g g) of the hoop straps; and, by such arrangement, said bar or one or both of its ears (m, a) may also serve as a stop to the band by striking against the eye straps when turning the band to open the hoop. The extension of said bar (C) above the band serves to give an increased or outside leverage by which to turn the fastening to open or close the hoop; and the running of the bar across the band admits either of a central grip by which to turn the band more rapidly and with less twist on the hooked straps, or of steadying and with the one hand assisting the band at or toward its bottom when straining on and turning it by the outside or projecting end of said bar or lever with the other hand. The passage too of the bar (C) loosely through its one ear of the band prevents interference by the bar with the yielding yet firm form or character of the fastening, and whereby breakage is avoided and the band (B) may be accurately adjusted at the onset from time to time to meet the exigencies of wear by (say) compressing the sides of the band toward each other in the direction indicated by the arrows (ai, z) in Fig. 4, or by, in other words, reducing the conjugate axis of the band, when such is the adjustment required. This, it will be clear, could not be so easily or perfectly attained, without destroying the oval character of the band, were t-he bar (C) arranged to cross and bind or tie together the opposite sides of the band.

The simplicity and perfection of such a fastening for the purpose here `mentioned gives to the whole a practical utility which it might not otherwise possess.

I claim- 1. A hoop having a cross cut or division at its periphery and constructed to open and close as described, when provided, on opposite sides of said division, with hook or eye straps united by a tie band of oval configuration or other similar shape and serving, in connection with the eye straps, to open and close the hoop and to hold the same when expanded or contracted substantially as herein set forth.

2. Providing the oval tie band to the hook or eye straps of the opening and closing hoop with a lever or handle, arranged to cross the oval band at points intermediate to subscribed my name.

JOHN BEACH. Witnesses:

C. M. BENTLEY, A. V'. BENTLEY. 

